Nudibranchs and Bristle worms

[txksigep69]

Well my wife and I bought some Beghia Nudibranch's tonight from the lfs. Put them in the tank to get rid of the aptasia. Had no idea we were feeding the bristleworms $50 bucks . We were told by a different lfs not to worry about the bristle worms. Not real happy right now. Would have been nice to know this little fact when asking if nudibranch's have any predators. Dont like to rant ,just a little upsetting to watch $50 dollars disappear with in 5 minutes when it could have been prevented with a little information.

 

[txksigep69]

Now the question is do I need to list bristle worms as part of our livestock ,or can I get rid of them. What else do they eat. The more I read the more confused I feel from feelings of being conned to oh well maybe I should be happy I have bristle worms. So confused.

 

[steveo66]

shop at franks tanks in ft worth he would of never done you like that. I would never go back to whatever lfs you bought those from it is real clear they just want to make a sale and dont care about the hobbiest at all jmo

 

[txksigep69]

I'm learning to not trust blindly. Before buying any livestock in the future I'll do my own research, that way I only have myself to blame.

 

[Andrew]

@steveo66 wrote:

"Real Clear"????That is a random statement at best....not to flame you but I have a ton of bristleworms and multiple of those nudi and have never ever had one eaten by a bristleworm. At this point they are breeding in my tank as well... Bristleworms are detrivores and being detritivores means that they'll only eat that which is sloughed/dead, but will not kill anything outright. I have never in over ten years in this hobby seen a britleworm eat something that was not already on its way out the door. how was the acclimation done? they are very susceptible at acclimation.

BTW Here is a reference Steveo before we start bashing the local companies that support this hobby and support my addictions.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bristlewmfaq4.htm

Andrew

 

[Steve]

A few months ago i was complaining to Frank about the crabs eating every snail that flips over... I was considering getting rid of the crabs... Frank reminded me this is the natural order of things so don't get mad at the crabs... I feel the same way about the bristle worms, they do have their place in the system, part of the clean up crew, Its hard to see the good they do until they are gone.

 

[shse666]

I added 30 Berghia nudis to my problem 45 yesterday. I did not observe the bristle worms moving in toward them but then again, I didn't have a lot of time to sit and watch them for hours.
I did see several mini brittle stars get real active as I was adding them. Again, I was not able to directly observe any of them actually capturing and/or consuming any of the Berghia.
From what I understand from the seller, it may be 30 to 45 days before I see the tank covered in egg strands, assuming enough survive to reproduce.

The explosion of baby Berghia is what allegedly wipes out the Aiptasia population. I will report back any and all progress.
If this fails, the tank will be broken down and all of the rock re-cooked.

I've had some success with peppermints before, but I have not tackled anything on this scale. I won't spent the 30+ hours time time around with a vinegar filled needled. I've sorta lost patience for that route as of now.

 

[txksigep69]

The bashing of a local lfs is why I would not nor will I say which one . We drip acclimated for about an hour. We did see one nudi last night so at least one lived longer than thought . The reason why the worm was suspected it ate them while waiting for the last nudi to come out of the turkey baster on his own due to his stubborness to stay no matter how hard we squeezed the bulb . The worm came out of the rock in full light and headed straight for him . We moved the baster just in time . However the other nudi was on the same rock a few inches above this worms lair or hole (whichever way you look at them) During this distraction the free nudi disappeared. The stubborn nudi then removed himself from the baster in a different part of the tank into the sand ,lost sight if this little guy pretty quickly also. With the wife and daughter asking quite frantically do the bristle worms eat the nudi branch . I started some research . A few pages returned the result s that the berghia nudi is a bristle worm food . I am even more confused now than before and still dont know if both nudi are alive or worm food (no pun intended)